Catocala frederici

Catocala frederici
kah-TOCK-uh-lahmmFREH-deh-rick-eye
Grote, 1872

Catocala frederici, New-Mexico, Villa Nueva State Park, June 30, 2002,
caught by Pierre de Tonnancour at Mercury vapor lamp
images courtesy of Pierre Legault, confirmed by Dave Hawks and Larry Gall.
This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Noctuidae
Group: Noctuinina
Subfamily: Catocalinae
Genus: Catocala, Schrank, 1802

MIDI MUSIC

"Moon River"
copyright C. Odenkirk
MIDI CITY
ON.OFF

DISTRIBUTION:

Catocala frederici, (wingspan: 40-52mm), flies in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona.

The forewing is a blotchy yellow-brown with faint lines. The double am line has a large central lobe. The subrenifrom spot is closed and lighter than suroundings. The submarginal area is an orangey-yellow.
The hindwing is yellow-orange, with the outer black band broken and followed by a flattened dot. The thin inner black band makes an almost 90 degree bend (internally) and is truncated well before the inner margin. The apex has a large yellow area.

Catocala frederici, New-Mexico, Villa Nueva State Park, June 30, 2002,
caught by Pierre de Tonnancour at Mercury vapor lamp
images courtesy of Pierre Legault

Catocala frederici, New-Mexico, Villa Nueva State Park, June 30, 2002,
caught by Pierre de Tonnancour at Mercury vapor lamp
images courtesy of Pierre Legault
The wingspan of the above specimen is 52mm. It is very similar to Catocala delilah which has a wing span of 60-68mm. In C. delilah the hw outer band on dorsal surface is indented near the anal angle but it is not broken as with C. frederici.
Catocala frederici bait, Franklin Mountains State Park, El Paso County, Texas,
June 11, 1998, courtesy of Harry King, slight digital repair by Bill Oehlke.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Catocala frederici are on the wing from late June to September.
The Catocala frederici caterpillar feeds on .

ECLOSION:

Adults eclose from pupae at soil surface.

SCENTING AND MATING:

Catocala frederici females emit an airbourne pheromone and males use their antennae to track the scent plume.

EGGS, CATERPILLARS, COCOONS, AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited on tree bark in the fall and hatch the following spring.

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants. It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive, although some species seem very host specific. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Catocala frederici, Barnes & McDunnough Plate
The above image seems a better match for C. desdemona.
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